And here are the first round results:
The Steve Forti Award to Steve Forti, cause really who else even comes close?

Security had to bag a zealot last night. Tried to escape. Gr. A cell should be secure, dammit. Requesting reinforcements.
Sincerely,
CFO, R. Tiddlywinks

Get those hens in line. Scramble a few eggs if needed, so to speak. Not literally, of course. Fortify that compound, or I'll find some guards with more testicular fortitude. Fire anyone who is aloof or timid. For time is short. The big day approaches.
Sent by,
CEO, E. Bunny

Not quite a story but these cracked me up completelyPeter Taylor 8:30pmLynnRodz 8:12amKitty 8:25am

Not quite a story, but lovely lyrical writing and a GREAT conceptEM Goldsmith 10:08pm

This is hilarious IF you know the sourcecode!John Davis (Manuscript) Frain 12:07am

This isn't quite a story but the writing and imagery are breathtakingLeilani

Fortissimama A. Capella, she a neon girl. She triangle-orange in a blue-circle world. She don’t want no dust-town life, never find a color in this old world. She scram. Saunter downcity, catch her some gaze.

Boys whistle. Boys catcall. She flip her hair and wink. They follow.

They follow down the years. It be one year, it be two years, it be ten. One by one, blue-circle girls smile at them boys. One day, nobody follow. All them scapegrace boys, they turn into dust-town papas.

Fortissimama ain’t a mama, but she still laughing neon-orange.

Here's the long list of finalists

-->

Melanie Sue Bowles

She adjusts my feeding tube then grabs a handful of raisins, cramming them in her mouth.

Late again, because of me.

“All set?” Her words are garbled.

I smile and nod. Wordless.

She adjusts my oxygen then waves from the door spoofing a Charlie Chaplin soft-shoe. The whoosh of the regulator settles into a comforting rhythm, but I can’t dance to it.

She navigates the city landscape, graceful as a gazelle in neon Chucks and a floral sundress. I navigate our apartment in a motorized wheelchair wearing an easy-access gown.

She adjusts her body-cam. Because of her, I live vicariously.

PAH 9:00am

One murder. Three suspects. Zero alibis. And me.

They were all there when the stubby bastard died.

The tall one, scarred, met my gaze with indifference. The other, nondescript except the obnoxious gold collar, avoided eye contact at all costs. And the slender fellow, a scapegrace in need of a trim, grinned. Discomforting.

“Wasn’t me,” they each said.

“Anyway, who put you in charge?” the Tall One asked.

Not my first rodeo, friends.

Apply some pressure; they scrambled, broke like fingers.

“Middle did it,” the small one finally squeaked.

“I’ll kill you!” Middle cried.

Thus solved the Murder of Thumb.

Michael Seese

Grandma didn't tolerate no lip.

“Some people have grace, and some just don't, dear,” she said, pouring a crisp cup of tea.

Grandma was sharp as a tack, though occasionally she'd fall prey to this faraway gaze that left her thoughts mired mid-order between scrambled and poached.

“You OK?”

“I'm fine, dear. I --”

The banging beneath my feet startled me. As always.

Grandma got down on all fours, most unladylike.

“You can't escape, Grace!” she yelled through a crack, rattling the fortified box below the floor. “So give it up!”

The foster parents are suspicious, though they’re never signed Love, Daddy and Grace.

FlashFriday

I showed him my heartsick gaze, vowed to abandon my scapegrace ways. From beneath demure faux lashes I promised to scram when he wants space, never Forti the truth, never answer a fin “nothing” when a great white “something” lurks.

So he married me.

Now he follows me everywhere. Every week-a-versary’s another (suffocating) bouquet of roses, every meal’s a (tacky) candlelit banquet, every email’s a (clichéd) Petrarchan sonnet, and even simple grocery lists are now obscured by swarms of his (immature) x’s and o’s.

Wednesday night. She’s cramming. If interrupted, she says, she might never reach the goal. He understands. As a future doctor’s spouse, he can be a time-thief or timesaver. But she has to eat. He brings her a chimichanga, zealous in his need to prove himself supportive.

A gentle knock. No answer. He knocks again. Frets. Faint from hunger? Asleep? He tries the door. Locked. Panicking, he locates the key he hid under the eaves.

Empty – her escape gracefully executed.

He sighs, glad he installed that tracker on her cell phone yesterday. She’d better be at the library. Or else.

Haven't had time to read the entries (avoided them until I had posted mine which was near 11pm and am only just back online this morning). Of those on the long list I couldn't pick between Ashley Turcotte and Donnaeve. Both took my breathe away.

So much great writing here! Many of these were a sheer pleasure to read. The two that were especially memorable for me were Cheryl's (beautiful writing, unusual concept) and Leilani's (wonderful voice). Thanks for making me laugh, Nate Wilson, Alva, Kitty, and AJ Blythe.

Yeah, I knew Donnaeve would be a finalist the first time I read it. I also knew my 100 words fell short of a story and could not compete with so many of these. You guys are too damn good. Flash artists all. Geez.

Wow! I am so impressed our Queen is already chomping at finalists. How impressive is that. This has been fun and all of the finalists are wonderful. Can't wait to see who claims the prize. I love this map book so much.

Tough choice. I adored Timothys with the monkeys creating a scrambled threat. Jaime's -- wow. Ashley and Donna were heartbeaking. Robert, Rkelan, Kate, and Lennon's all tugged on the heartstrings. Tough choice. If someone held a gun to my head and made me choose, I'd go with Lennon's because I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Can't wait to see what Janet decides.

Yes, I had picked most of the long list as finalists. I especially loved Ashley's and Melanie's and Donna's and Lennon's and Rkeelan's and . . . well, all of them. Barbara's story about the old sailor telling a tall tale cracked me up with the last line about riding all the way to Nantucket. Oh, and Megan's Phantom of the Opera poem was epic. Congrats to all of you!

Such good writing. I am constantly impressed by the ability to do so much with so few words. I keep trying, thinking the practice can only help. Maybe if I had just a few more words, like 80K or so, I could master this whole flash fiction thing.

This is my 10th? 15th? time carefully crafting an entry, and my first time remembering during the chaos of my Saturday to actually post an entry! Thank you Timothy and Cecilia for the shout out. I wasn't TRYING to pander, but the word 'fin' was in there and I just took it and ran with it.

Wow. What am I happier about? A shout-out in Writer's Digest, or a shout-out in Janet's contest? Both are pretty awesome. Thanks, Janet. I'll put Knuckles under contract... :D

Congrats to the long-listers, and congrats to Janet for actually narrowing the field down to this list. Lots of great entries, and I too LOVE to see new names competing. May this not be your last time. For the record, this was my 81st entry in a Janet Contest. And though I may not make it to the finals a lot, I know my writing has benefited, so keep it up, guys!!

At least I made you look up a word, JR- it's an antibiotic for shipping fever, sometimes given as a preventative. Dangerous stuff for humans, because it messes with your heart. When I took Animal Science in college, it was one of those scary things that could happen to anyone working with cows- one quick accidental poke- made me swear off cows forever. Year 10 in Montana coming up, and we still have no cows :)

I so echo many of the comments, and Colin I think you summed up the benefit of these contests, they really do hone one's writing. Congrats to all that entered, and an added shout out to the longlisters. Yeah!

Again thanks to QOTKU for all you do. Cheers Hank.

I read them all and I swear, I couldn't choose ten if my life depender on it!

Wow! What a bunch of great stories as usual. Makes me almost grateful I couldn't enter this one (we're in the midst of moving house and I don't have the capacity to form coherent sentences, let alone a clever story). Good luck to all the long listed finalists!

Yesterday I got to spend the day with the GREAT folks from Pelican Book Store where we had an event at The Silver Coast Winery and discussed everything from DIXIE DUPREE to ghostly activity in my house. :)

Today, I'm heading up to Rocky Mount to visit the Braswell Memorial Library and The Good Reads Book Club - so I might miss who wins!

Anywho - while I was driving around eastern NC, I see The Queen has been busy!

I've said it before and I will say it again - IDK how she does it. I loved all the entries - who wouldn't? I loved seeing the new names pop up too.

I will readily admit - I didn't get some of the LL mentions! :>O

My faves:

I loved the humor of Nate's (Ramming speed!)

Beth's stuck out for having that perfect, subtle CREEP factor.

FlashFriday's for absolute confidence in only needing (wait while I count the dammits - 16!) 84 words to craft a compelling story of obsession - like Beth's.

Then here comes Michael Seese. His story almost startled me the way that thumping did!

And PAH...OMG. Too imaginative, and funny! The Murder of Thumb.

And...dang. Melanie, Kate, LennonRKeelan and RobertCeres all got me in the feelz dept.

Well. I think I succeeded in listing almost everyone. Most helpful, yes?

Thank you for the LL mention Janet!

COLIN Your "humorous" voice was SHINING in your entry, btw. And you got a mention in WD??? Which one? I missed it!

Donna: Thanks! I thought about going for deep and literary, but decided on the humorous angle because, well, that's what appears to come naturally..?! Of course, the risk is Janet may either not dig the humor, or be in more of a lyrical mood when she's judging. In the end, I decided WTH (what the heck) and go with my instincts. Better to be true to oneself than simply pander (not Panda), even if it costs being picked. Given the competition, though, there was a good chance I wouldn't make it to the finals even with my best literary attempt! :)

Glad I could make a few people laugh. And still humbled at being a prompt word.

My vote this week goes to Ashley Turcotte. Excellent work, powerful. And I must say it's great to see Kate Outhwaite back in action. You were always one of my favorites in years past, and this is another stellar entry.

Wow, what a worthy crop of entries for #100! Lennon's entry blew me away with how rich a voice and story it managed to fit into 100 words. The other finalists and mentions were also fabulous.

I thought Allison Corin did a masterful, subtle job of showing how our preconceptions can blind us to the reality of a situation. I also enjoyed Jennifer Delozier's homeless piano player, RosannaM's dystopia (with all the appropriate pills, of course), and Katie's new agent story.

Wow! I was doing yard work all day yesterday and didn't have a chance to check on the finalists. Just got to work and took a look. Promptly jumped up and down. (Which is proof of just how excited I am to be included with all those incredible stories; after all that work yesterday, I can hardly even walk.)

I've been reading this blog for years, but almost never post. (I'm that kind of shy.) So I really appreciate how many of you said kind words about my entry in the comments.

So much fun to read all the entries - creative, clever, astonishing. Great work everyone! Big congrats to all the mentions and finalists. Way too hard to pick a winner, but Lennon and R Keelan's really moved me, and PAH's made me laugh out loud! Janet: I don't envy you the decision.

Congratulations to the finalists! Oh man, I have no idea how Janet will decide this one. I was blown away by so many of the entries, and not just the long-listers. Donnaeve? Ashley? Lennon? It's a dartboard that's just one big bulls-eye as far as I'm concerned. You guys are amazing and all winners.

Echoing what many have already said: So much good stuff, it's beyond difficult to decide on just one. LynnRodz and PAH, Fun and clever. Nate, Steve Forti, and Colin, Funny! And Colin, The mention in WD! So cool :-D

I could sorta go on and on, but if my feet were held to the fire, Lennon. It's quite possible I'm already her number one fan.

I think I would have to vote for Ashley's. That's the one that just had the total "oh crap" factor for me. It's beautiful and sad and just makes me cringe all over. I also loved the twisty endings to Beth's and Michael's. With a prompt like scapegrace, you wouldn't think to be so thoroughly surprised by an escaping Grace!

I’m pleased that mine made you smile, Kitty and Janet. In truth, in the 1960s when I was about 13, I was the one caught gazing out of the window and, not knowing what was going on and that I was supposed to answer ‘command’, made to do far worse than just walk to the teacher’s desk and be embarrassed.

I included the full scenario in a mid-grade mystery …but have been told that this and other elements would be totally implausible to the current generation whose parents would take legal action if teachers behaved as I have described, and the whole story is far too politically incorrect. Sigh! Another ms that I enjoyed writing but which will remain in the bottom drawer forever. Maybe the genre should be changed to historical narrative non-fiction…

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I'm a literary agent in NYC. I specialize in crime fiction and narrative non-fiction (history and biography.) I'll be glad to receive a query letter from you; guidelines to help you decide if I'm looking for what you write are below.
There are several posts labelled "query pitfalls" and "annoy me" that may help you avoid some common mistakes when querying.